Nova Steering & Suspension Upgrade - Get A Handle On It

Nova Frontend Upgrades

It's a well-known fact that there's room for a great deal of improvement when it comes to the handling characteristics of early musclecars. With this in mind, and with a big-block Nova that sincerely needed help in the handling department, we thought we'd take advantage of the components and technology available these days and perform a few bolt-in mods to correct those deficiencies.

To this end, we approached a few of the leaders in the suspension and steering industry (namely Fatman Fabrications, QA1, Classic Performance Products, Wilwood, and Hellwig Products) and procured the components needed for the upgrade. The '71 Nova was originally a six-cylinder car that had been outfitted with a 396-cube big-block and a TH400 trans. The original suspension, though, was not upgraded along with the engine, adding insult to injury in the handling department.

To improve the less-than-satisfactory handling characteristics of this nose-heavy hauler, it was imperative that we start with coil springs of the correct rate. Along with a pair of CPP springs, we also installed a set of Fatman tubular control arms and G-Force spindles, a Hellwig sway bar (provided by Fatman Fab), a set of QA1 fully adjustable shocks, a CPP quick-ratio steering box assembly, and Wilwood Dynalite Pro disc brakes-confident that this combination of components would go a long way in improving the handling, ride, and stopping power of this muscular Nova. See how uncomplicated the installation of these aforementioned components was, and keep in mind, we'll be back with a few rear suspension upgrades as well before our final track testing, so stay tuned.

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Nova Steering & Suspension Upgrade - Get A Handle On It

The subject Nova came to us sporting a big-block in place of its original six. The suspension was unmodified though it had at one point received an OEM-style disc brake conversion-an improvement over the factory drums but absolutely no benefit handling-wise.

The upgrade was started by removing the calipers, the rotors, and disconnecting the steering arms from the stock spindles.

After we placed a floor jack under the lower control arms and broke loose of the spindle nuts, we lowered the jack, releasing the pressure on the springs and then slid them out of their pockets.

With the springs out of the way, it was quick work to unbolt and remove the stock upper and lower control arms.

The following images show the differences between the stock stamped-steel control arms...

The Fatman spindles bolt easily into place with no modification and are extremely strong. They're fabricated from SAE 1010-grade material and are 1-inch-diameter and 0.188 wall thickness. They also come with a unique urethane spring seats or can be used with coilover shocks and/or Air Ride components.

Perhaps the most noteworthy components used in the upgrade (handling-wise) are Fatman's G-Force spindles. They not only provide a 2-inch drop for a lower center of gravity, but they also have the upper ball joint raised 2 inches to improve camber, and thus result in better traction and handling.

To help support the added heft of the big-block over the diminutive original six-cylinder engine, a pair of CPP coil springs were used in place of the overworked originals.

The next step was to install the new spindles. G-Force spindles will accept any disc brake system including the Dynalite Pro Series brakes we chose to use in our upgrade.

Here's a shot of the shocks chosen for the handling upgrade. QA1 aluminum-bodied adjustables have consistently proven themselves in numerous suspension upgrades we've performed over the years, so we naturally chose to use them again in this case.

One other thing that was immediately apparent upon our initial testing was that the Nova's OEM steering box was well-worn. The steering was loose and there was a lot of play in the wheel. So, while we were doing the suspension upgrade it only made sense to also replace the ailing gear with a quick-ratio replacement from CCP.

The CCP box is a direct bolt-in replacement, so it was an easy task to swap out. While we were at it we replaced the rag joint, too.

To go along with the front suspension upgrade, Fatman supplied us with a new Hellwig heavy-duty anti-rollbar assembly, as well. The bar will greatly improve cornering by limiting body roll and the adverse effects it has on handling.

Once the suspension components were in place, we then turned our sights to the brake system. As the Nova sports a set of traditional 15-inch Cragar SS wheels, we couldn't go to large-diameter brakes. We did, however, find that Wilwood offered a great performance brake package that fit the bill perfectly-the Dynalite Pro Series. We started out by replacing the OEM master cylinder with a Wilwood unit designed to work with the calipers (mismatching calipers and master cylinders is a common problem that'll cause poor braking).

The Fatman spindles accept all performance braking system components, so the Wilwood caliper brackets were a direct bolt on.

After unpacking the Wilwood system and making sure all the components were in place, we assembled the hubs and discs. Wilwood supplies a complete and thorough instruction sheet that makes assembly a straightforward operation.

Once both units are assembled, the brake discs are attached to the hub assemblies and the bolts tightened to spec.

An extremely important aspect of the Wilwood assembly is safety wiring of the hub components. There are tips included in the instructions and a more in-depth explanation on the Wilwood Web site.

This image shows a nearly completed example of a safety wired assembly.

Once the bearings and grease seals are installed the finished rotors are then installed onto the spindles, the calipers attached to the brackets, and the pads and brake lines in and connected, the job is pretty much complete. Next time we'll show you what we did to the rear suspension to bring it up to par with the front, and we'll get back to the track for some final testing and comparison to our baseline performance.

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